25.12.16

Christmas Day 1888

4 Irish teams entered the FA Cup in the 1888-89 season.The 2nd qualifying round included 2 all Irish ties, as Linfild beat Ulster 7-1 and Cliftonville beat Belfast YMCA 5-0.In the 3rd qualifying round Cliftonville benefited from a walkover at the expense of Liverpool Stanley, whilst Linfield recorded a 4-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers in what was considered the biggest FA Cup upset to date.In the 4th qualifying round the 2 surviving Irish teams were drawn together, and it took 3 matches to separate them. Following successive 3-3 draws Linfield won the Christmas Day game 7-0.

This is the only time that an FA Cup tie has been played on Christmas Day .